Praethoryn Swarm
The Prae'thorii Shom'a- or simply the Praethoryn Swarm- (plural: Praetorii) is a faction of savage, primal-esque zerg ruled by an Allmother queen strain; formerly Allmother Arachne. This heavily modified strain of zerg first originated from the torn world of Lunaris, formerly home to a vast species of flora and fauna before their appearance in the said world. They were described by the Terrans as the border between primal and actual zerg. Hidden amongst the desolate sectors, the Praethoryn made a major appearance when they raided the a Terran sector for biomass and resources, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. The swarm was declared as an A-class threat by the Dominion Authority, only a class below the actual Zerg Swarm. The Praethoryn- like their original counterparts- are divided into numerous broods, but all are ruled by a single entity, an Allmother. Said broods are: * Ashura Brood * Mantis Brood * Chimera Brood * Griffin Brood * Hippogryph Brood * Widow Brood * Devourer Brood Each brood is tasked with a specific duties like ground units, air creatures, or sabotage and destroy. Additionally, it devoured the world Solaris and infested its intelligent inhabitants, all in a span of only 5 months- creating what would be today called the Infestation. The swarm itself is powerful enough to defeat powerful forces of the Terran Dominion with only their sheer number and force. They serve as a minor antagonist from the Zerg campaign chapter "Eyes of Evil" to "Hollow Dreams" in Starcraft: Mercurial Darkness. The Praethoryn later becomes a playable faction under the Zerg race after completing the survival mission "Fall of the Scourge" along with the Infestation. In the same mission, Arachne was slain and both the Praethoryn and Infestation were absorbed into the Neogene Swarm; both were later absorbed into the Collective Swarm. The race has a DLC pack named "Whispers of the Prae'thorii" which includes a side campaign, new Praethoryn combat and heroic units, as well as two maps, "Lunaris" and "Solaris". History Appearance on Lunaris The Prae'thorii Sho'ma first appeared on Lunaris, a planet located in the thought-to-be desolate Dinares sector. Its twin planet was Solaris, home to the advanced Kats, who witnessed the creation of their would-be catalyst to extinction in the future. Supposedly created by Terran scientists, the Praethoryn ran rampant on the lush world of Lunaris- and like regular zerg- controlled by higher ranking creatures on the hierarchy. These zerg then roamed the planet aimlessly, until the creation of the first Allmother, Arachne. Though young, Arachne was quick to learn and like zerg broodmothers, has a mind and personality of her own. She was then used as a puppet to control the Praethoryn, which she did successfully. She was also augmented to be able to analyze, edit and completely change the genome code of creatures and Praethoryn specimens. After numerous sessions of experimentation and subservience, thoughts of revolution then came into her mind. She showed a rebellious nature and refused to take orders from her Terran creators which resulted in the scientists wiping her memory clean. The scientists then proposed to establish a hivemind between them and the Praethoryn, in order to keep them in bay. A few experiments were conducted after this, testing their results to the native fauna in Lunaris, which went successful. They continued to do so until two scientists tested the hivemind on themselves, working perfectly with no sign of mistake. However, the moment they connected the hivemind to the Allmother, they realized there was no turning back. Arachne then revealed to have faked having her memories erased, stating that their machinery was no match against the will of their hivemind. She then manipulated her Terran creators using the hivemind- the other scientists had no idea what had transpired in these moments- to create new strains of Praetorii that proved to be a factor to the Allmother's escape. Arachne then orchestrated her escape, and assassinated the two scientists she controlled as a part of her plan, then destroying the laboratory in the process. During her escape, she took biomass and DNA of several species, as well as Praethoryn specimens. No one knows what truly happened to the laboratory and its scientists after the Allmother disappeared into darkness. When Terran scouts patrolled the planet, they found nothing but malignant creep and unknown carcasses. The planet was declared to be dead by the Dominion High Authority by 25XX, and found infested beings on its twin planet, Solaris. War of Twin Planets To view the full details of this event, please head directly to the War of Twin Planets page. Sometime after the swarm ravaged Lunaris and its native inhabitants, the Praethoryn then seeked further resources, focusing their sights on the planet's twin world, Solaris- home to the advanced civilization of the Kats. > TBA < Bestiary The Praethoryn Swarm consists of many strains, primarily composed of the Praetostrains, more savage and battle-adapted variants of the original zerg swarm, purposely built only for direct battles and skirmishes, although they have infiltration and stealth assets to dismantle enemies even from within their planets. See: List of Praethoryn Swarm unitsCategory:Zerg Category:Zerg factions Category:Zerg breeds